The present invention relates to the field of vehicle devices, and, more particularly, to a tracking and alerting system for a vehicle.
Motor vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, busses, fleet vehicles, etc. are widely used and knowing the locations of such vehicles is often desired. For example, should a vehicle be stolen, it would be beneficial to know the vehicle""s location so that authorities could be promptly and accurately directed to retrieve the vehicle. Indeed, the tracking system could plot the getaway path of the thief.
For a company with hired drivers, it may be desirable to know the driver""s whereabouts during the course of the day. Similarly, a rental car agency or other fleet operator, for example, may wish to know the whereabouts of its fleet of vehicles.
It may also be desirable to track the location of a vehicle as it is used throughout the course of a normal day. For parents of younger or older drivers, for example, knowledge of the vehicle""s location may provide some assurance that the driver is at designated locations and following a prescribed route.
A number of patents disclose various systems and approaches to tracking vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844 discloses a tracking system including a control center and a mobile unit installed in the vehicle. The mobile unit may send security warnings to the command center via a wireless transceiver. Position information for the vehicle is determined using a GPS receiver at the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,043 discloses a similar system which may send one or more preprogrammed telephone messages to a user when away from the vehicle. The user may remotely access location information or cause certain commands to be carried out by entering a personal identification number (PIN).
The widespread availability and use of the Internet has prompted a number of vehicle tracking systems to also make use of the Internet. For example, TelEvoke, Inc. proposed such a system in combination with Clifford Electronics. The system was to provide notification, control and tracking services via the telephone or the Internet. Users could be notified via phone, e-mail, or pager of events such as a car alarm being triggered. Users could control the vehicle remote devices via phone, web, or PDA such as unlocking car doors. Additionally, users could track TelEvoke-enabled vehicles on the Internet or via the telephone. An Internet map could be viewed by the user showing the actual and prior vehicle locations. TelEvoke offered its services via a centralized fully automated Network Operations Center. To reduce the communications costs, it was proposed to use the control channel of the cellular telephone network.
Many vehicle tracking systems require the user to register or subscribe to the system to pay for the various communications and other processing costs. Some consumers may choose to delay registering until needed. This may be particularly so if the user can easily wait till the vehicle is stolen before paying the fee and registering. Accordingly, the service providers may have relatively low compliance with registration despite having large capital investments and possible carrying communications system costs.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle tracking system and related method that encourages registration, such as registration of a new tracking unit purchaser.
This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a vehicle tracking unit and a monitoring station communicating therewith. The vehicle tracking unit may include a user indicator, a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller. The controller is preferably switchable between an unregistered mode and a registered mode. In the registered mode, the controller may cooperate with the wireless communications device and the vehicle position determining device to determine and send vehicle position information to the monitoring station. In the unregistered mode, the controller may activate the user indicator to encourage registration by the user. Accordingly, a relatively straightforward approach to encourage user registration is provided.
The controller may be switchable to the registered mode based upon an activation message from the monitoring station. For example, when the registration payment has been received, the monitoring station can send one or more messages to the vehicle tracking unit to stop activation of the registration reminder indicator. Conversley, the controller may be switchable to the unregistered mode based on a deactivation message from the monitoring station. That is, if the user allows his or her registration to expire, the monitoring station can send one or more messages to the vehicle tracking unit to resume activation of the registration reminder indicator.
Further still, the controller when in the registered mode may also activate the user indicator based upon a warning message from the monitoring station indicating that the user""s registration is about to expire. Thus, when the user""s registration is within a few days, weeks, etc. of expiring, the monitoring station may advantageously send the warning message so that the controller will activate the user indicator and remind the user that it is time to renew his or her registration. Thus, the system helps to ensure that the user will continue to enjoy continuous and uninterrupted service.
Along these lines, the controller when in the unregistered mode may have reduced features compared to the registered mode. For example, the controller when in the unregistered mode may be restricted or limited in sending messages with the wireless communications device. Accordingly, usage of the wireless communications network may be reduced. In addition, transmissions from the vehicle tracking unit may be suppressed during original installation, for example.
The vehicle may include an ignition switch being switchable between on and off positions. In some embodiments, the controller may operate the registration reminder indicator based upon the vehicle ignition switch being in an on position, as would indicate the presence of the user in the vehicle. The registration reminder indicator may comprise at least one of an audible indicator and a visual indicator.
The vehicle position determining device may comprise a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, for example. In addition, the wireless communications device may comprise a cellular telephone communications device, such as operating over the control channel. The monitoring station may comprise a user interface, such as an Internet interface, and/or a telephone network interface.
A method aspect of the invention is for operating a vehicle tracking unit for communicating with a monitoring station. The vehicle tracking unit may include a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller. The method may include switching the controller from a registered mode to an unregistered mode based upon an expiration of a user registration. Moreover, when the controller is in the unregistered mode, a user indicator may be activated to encourage registration by the user.
Yet another method aspect of the invention is also for operating a vehicle tracking unit for communicating with a monitoring station, such as the one described briefly above. The method may include switching the controller between a registered mode and an unregistered mode based upon a user registration, and activating the user indicator when the controller is in the registered mode based upon a warning message from the monitoring station indicating that the user registration is about to expire.